Background / Terms of Reference
On this page: Armenia | Azerbaijan | Bulgaria | Georgia | Kazakhstan | Kyrgyz Republic | Romania | Turkey | Ukraine | Uzbekistan
Armenia
Grantee: Viasphere Technopark
Grant: Capacity Building Grant. US $150,000
Contact: Aram Vardanyan, General Director, Viasphere Technopark
Email: vardanyan@viasphere.com
Viasphere Technopark (VT) is a private company incorporated in the Republic of Armenia in 2001. VT is a wholly owned subsidiary of Viasphere International (VI). VT started operations in July 2001 by housing five start up companies. Since then, Viasphere Technopark has become a model commercial incubator in Armenia, housing 11 tenants and creating more than 400 jobs in the ICT sector. VT is centrally located in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, in the southeastern industrial part of the city, which is close to Zvartnots International Airport. The technopark campus consists of 10 buildings. The site was formerly a headquarters for the Transistor Company, one of the more advanced semiconductor research and development centers in the former Soviet Union. The buildings consist primarily of office space, and electronics laboratories.
Azerbaijan
Grantee: Information and Telecommunication Technologies Development Association
Grant: Planning Grant. US $100,000
Contact: Mr Araz Mamadov
Email: araz@azerinet.com
Information and Telecommunications Technologies Development Association (INFOTEK) is a locally registered non-profit organization. The focus of INFOTEK is to develop ICT in Azerbaijan. INFOTEK is also responsible for the “.az” domain name. The objective of the work program funded by infoDev is to support social and economic development in the city of Sumgayit through the launch of a business incubator. Sumgayit is located in the northern part of the Absheron peninsula, north of Baku, and is the second largest industrial city in Azerbaijan.
Bulgaria
Grantee: Applied Research and Communication (ARC) Fund
Grant: Capacity Building Grant Grant Amount: $125,000
Contact: Angel Milev, Program Manager
Email: angel.milev@online.bg
The goal of the infoDev funded work program is to foster the development of innovative ICT-based products, services and enterprises in Bulgaria. The ARC Fund focuses on developing integrated online innovation incubation services.
Georgia
Grantee: Civil Society Support Centre (CSSC)
Grant: Planning Grant. US $70,000
Contact: Vazha Goginashvili, Project Director
Email: csscge@yahoo.com
The Civil Society Support Centre (CSSC) was founded in 1999 in Gori, which is in the center of Shida Kartli, one of the largest regions in Georgia. In 2003, CSSC expanded by opening a branch office in Tbilisi. The centre has several departments that implement civil society development programs, including programs focused on community development, self governance, small business assistance, and information and ICT. The planning grant from infoDev aims to create a strategic framework for developing and launching a Georgian business incubator. The grant provides funds for a feasibility study for a new incubator.
Kazakhstan
Grantee: SODBI Business Incubator
Grant: Operational Grant. US $250,000
Contact: Kairat Sugurbekov, Director
Email: k_sugurbekov@sodbi.kz
Additional Website: http://www.sodbi.kz/
SODBI Business Incubator is an ICT-enabled non-profit organization based in Shymkent, which is in southern Kazakhstan. The SODBI Business Incubator was established with the support of the Shymkent City administration, and is closely associated with the city's Innovation Committee. The work program focuses on: building mentoring and consulting capacity, facilitating business partnership arrangements between incubators and clients, advocacy for SME policy reform, fundraising, and access to Russian language translations of global and infoDev literature on incubation. The SODBI Business Incubator has over 20 tenants. There are 10 graduates to date. To support ICT-related business tenants, SODBI established its own loan fund for SMEs, and has an agreement with banks to provide loans to clients. SODBI Business Incubator is financially self-sufficient, generating revenue from tenant rentals, business services to internal and external clients, and training services.
Kyrgyz Republic
Grantee: Union of Business Incubators and Innovation Centers of the Kyrgyz Republic
Grant: Capacity Building Grant. US $150,000
Contact: Zamira Akbagysheva,
Email: congresswomen@intranet.kg
The Union of Business Incubators and Innovation Centers of the Kyrgyz Republic, the implementing organization of the infoDev Incubators Initiative work program in Kyrgyzstan, was launched in August 2003. The mandate of the union is to promote SME development through implementing and maintaining business incubators, innovation centers, and technology parks. In addition to functions related to asset maintenance [?], the union is also responsible for promoting economic growth, raising employment, helping start up businesses and integrating Kyrgyzstan into the global knowledge-based economy.
Romania
Grantee: The Development Centre for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Maramures
(CDIMM Maramures Foundation)
Grant: Operational Grant. US $350,000
Contact: Mr. Radu Big; Executive Manager
Email: radu@cdimm.org
Additional Website: http://www.cdimm.org
The Business Incubator Centre at Baia Mare is a mixed incubator. The center is a non-profit organization that receives funding support from the CDIMM Maramures Foundation. The center was established to support entrepreneurship among university graduates, youth and other business newcomers by growing ICT start ups using research developed in Romanian universities and research institutions. The incubator also aims to improve the capacity of associated and networked incubators to develop ICT ventures and assist SMEs in adopting ICT. The incubator houses 32 on-site tenants and has graduated 26 companies. The center assists on-site and off-site tenants and clients through training and mentoring services, and has developed advocacy materials in partnership with other SME organizations.
Turkey
Grantee: Ankara CyberPark Technology Incubator
Grant: Capacity Building Grant. US $250,000
Contact: Ms. Hanzade Avci Saricicek, Institutional Development Manager
Email address: havci@cyberpark.com.tr
The incubator was established as part of the Ankara CyberPark, which is a university related science and technology park. The guiding mission of Ankara CyberPark is to serve research and development (R&D) project groups, technology based start-up firms, and SMEs. The internationalization of firms operating within the incubator is encouraged through European and international knowledge networks with which the Ankara Cyberpark associates.
Grantee: METUTECH
Grant: Capacity Building Grant Grant Amount: $ 125,000
Contact: Mr. Ugur Yuksel, Manager of METUTECH
Email: ugur.yuksel@metutech.metu.edu.tr
The main goal of the infoDev project is to stimulate, and accelerate the creation of technology based innovative start-ups with high growth potential. The project focuses on new technologies emerging from universities and research centers. MENUTECH was established in 1991 as a joint stock company by the Middle East Technical University, Ankara Chamber of Industry, and three private companies: Bileda Inc., EBI Inc. and Ortadogu Yazilim Inc. MENUTECH hosts 157 companies, almost 75% of which are SMEs. Companies based at METUTECH are active in ICT sector. The incubation center of METUTECH serves 38 micro sized companies, 15% of which are university spin-offs.
Ukraine
Grantees: Ukrainian Business Incubators and Innovation Centre Association (UBICA) and Center of Small Business Development, Kharkov Small Business Incubator
Grant: Operational Grant. US$500,000
Contact: Nikolay Paal - Director, Project Manager
Email Address: ubica@ubica.kiev.ua
The Ukrainian Business Incubators and Innovation Centre Association (UBICA) was established in 1998 in Ukraine. UBICA is a network of business incubators. Currently, UBICA consists of 10 incubators, 24 Economic Support Centers, and three technology parks. Counting all regional offices, UBICA has 71 legal entities with 112 employees. The mission of UBICA is to provide assistance for entrepreneurial development programs by establishing and supporting business incubators, technology parks, centers for entrepreneurial support and other innovative structures. UBICA achieves its mission by:
- Protecting the rights of entrepreneurs and establishing support structures
- Realizing and developing support programs for innovative businesses
- Building a partnership network in Ukraine and the region
- Using new approaches to support and develop SMEs
- Collaborating with government to develop support programs for entrepreneurs.
Grantee: Kharkov Business Incubator (joint grantee, Ukraine)
Contact: Inna Gagauz - Director, Project Manager
Email Address: kt@isc.kharkov.com
Kharkov Business Incubator was funded as part of a shared grant with the UBICA ICT business incubator in Kiev. The Kharkov business incubator is part of the Kharkov Technologies Centre established in 1998 within the framework of the inter-governmental Business Incubator Development (BID) program. The BID program involves a partnership between Loyola College in the US, and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in Ukraine. Additional financial support was provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The main goal of the work program is to promote the application of ICT by Kharkov’s tenants and affiliates and enable SMEs to improve their profitability in a competitive environment. The mission of Kharkov Business Incubator is to provide assistance to technology oriented SMEs and to promote the commercialization of science-based technologies in Ukraine.
Uzbekistan
Grantee: Association of Business Incubators and Technoparks of the Republic of Uzbekistan
(ABIT)
Grant: Capacity Building Grant. US$250,000
Contact: Mr. Zafar Mukhitdinov, ABIT Vice-Chairman
Email Address: zafarm@rambler.ru ; zafarpm@hotmail.com
The Association of Business Incubators and Technoparks of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ABIT) was founded in 2000, and is a registered non-profit organization. The main tasks of ABIT include: coordination of the activities of the country’s business incubators and technoparks, support for members of the association and their business partners, external investment, and the creation of small enterprises. ABIT targets small enterprises focused on technology and manufacturing sector products. The founders of ABIT consist of 23 business incubators and one technopark.